Design Matters ‘flips’ homes to shorten time on market

LOUISVILLE – Helly Duncan’s surge in revenues may be due, in part, to the economic downturn.

She revived Design Matters, her interior design and home-staging business, two years ago and has since experienced a large increase in business. Duncan’s innate ability to quickly flip the interior of a home appeals to home sellers who are hoping to quickly attract a buyer or are attempting to stave off foreclosure.

Design Matters posted revenues of $11,792 in 2005 and improved to $96,036 in 2007, a 714 percent increase. Design Matters is the No. 3 fastest-growing private company with revenues less than $2 million on the Boulder County Business Report’s Mercury 100 list.

The company was founded in 1996 as a design-only business and has since morphed into providing both interior design and home-staging services for homeowners, home builders and Realtors.

She recreated her business in 2006 based on the reasons she felt people hired interior designers: to improve their home’s aesthetics or functionality, for health reasons, concerns for the earth, to save money or as a future investment.

Duncan is quick to point out that interior decorators deal with colors, window treatments, furniture and fabric selection, while interior designers are not mere “pillow plumpers.”

“We go to school and have formal training. We’re full service. We know how to draft and do space planning and collaborate with architectural designers and electricians on technical or structural specifications,” Duncan said.

She obtained a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising from Colorado State University and an associate degree of applied science in interior design from Arapahoe Community College. She is also certified as an Accredited Staging Professional, or ASP, through stagedhomes.com, the industry leader in staging education and training.

As a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the American Society for Interior Designers and the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, Duncan feels she has solutions for every home and budget.

The shift in her business happened when she began focusing on home staging in 2006.

A 2007 survey by Accredited Staging Professionals revealed surprising statistics:

Lightening and brightening a home has a 355 percent return on investment, or ROI, while cleaning and decluttering brings a 578 percent ROI. The average days an unstaged home sells is 163.7, while homes staged prior to listing sold in an average of 8.9 days. Research also indicated a 5.8 percent increase in home equity gain due to an average 6.9 percent sale price increase.

“The average home buyer decides in eight seconds whether or not they like a home,” Duncan said.

She begins with a free consultation to determine whether there’s a mutual fit, which is important considering the duration of some interior design jobs. She said she’s not a design dictator, and while she has her own ideas she prefers working with her clients as a team.

Duncan offers a two-hour mini stage for $200 where she provides suggestions for rearranging furnishings, cleaning or eliminating clutter, depersonalizing or neutralizing the space, lightening rooms or accenting colors.

“I love it when I walk into someone’s home, and they love it when I leave my ideas behind,” Duncan said.

The cost increases for those desiring help with carpet, paint, furnishings, art, accessory purchases or interior design services.

She credits growth to her husband, Matt’s, publicity efforts and updating the Web site.

Google returned 2,260,000 hits for the keyword search ‘home staging’ and Design Matters is No. 2 thanks to the search engine optimizers they utilized.

“I wanted a powerful Web presence as this is a referral-based business,” Duncan said. She gains two to three new contacts a week.

She finances Design Matters with sweat equity, business credit cards and client referrals. Her goal is to write a business plan and obtain a small-business loan to assist with paying contractors and increasing her inventory of rentals.

Duncan is committed to hiring employees, rather than independent consultants for larger jobs. “I’m going upward and onward in this changing, exacting and exhilarating field. I absolutely love what I’m doing.”

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